After traveling all over the world, Jackie and her husband were ready to start a family. She thought having kids would be easy for them and did not anticipate having any problems with fertility.

However, after a year of trying, Jackie couldn’t get pregnant. She feared she might have polycystic ovarian disorder (PCOS) like her older sister, who had conceived twins through in vitro fertilization (IVF). But after seeing Dr. Jeffrey Nelson for a consultation, testing revealed her husband had male factor infertility.

Recalled Jackie, “We decided to proceed with IVF after a round of intrauterine insemination (IUI) failed. My sister did not have a good experience with her IVF clinic, but we felt fortunate to have found a very responsive facility with a compassionate staff. Also, our insurance covered 80 percent of the costs. My sister, unfortunately, had to pay for the full cost of her treatment.”

Jackie responded well to IVF and became pregnant with twins on her first cycle. She had blood clot issues early in her pregnancy, and Dr. Nelson put her on bed rest for six weeks. “There was a strong likelihood I was going to lose the babies, but the issue was fortunately resolved by the 12th or 13th week of my pregnancy. Dr. Nelson was so calm and reassuring, and I wanted to keep him as my obstetrician. My experience with HRC Fertility was so different from my sister’s experience with her clinic.”

Her IVF experience was challenging and an emotional roller coaster, but Jackie was relieved to have only undergone it once to have her twins.

Jackie’s advice to other women: “Find the best clinic and physician you can. There are things in life you can skim, but fertility treatment isn’t one of them. IVF is one of the best steps you can take to get pregnant, though it isn’t a comfortable process. The medication makes you moody, and the shots are complicated. That’s why trusting your fertility doctor is so important.”

Two years ago, Jackie was feeling depressed at Thanksgiving because she couldn’t get pregnant. One year ago, she was on bed rest, awaiting the birth of the twins. This year, she is celebrating the holidays as the mother of twins.

June is Men’s Health Month–and a great opportunity to learn some interesting and unusual facts about sperm, a man’s small but mighty reproductive material.

Sperm and semen are not the same
Sperm are too tiny to see with the naked eye, while semen is the white fluid that is ejaculated after a man achieves orgasm. Even though sperm are microscopically small, they show up in abundant numbers. The 10 to 500 million sperm found in a single semen contribution would stretch for six miles if they were lined up end to end.

Each ejaculate of semen is about a half teaspoon of fluid. In addition to sperm, semen contains proteins, fructose and other organic fluids that allow sperm to survive and fertilize the egg. With the help of clear secretions produced by the bulbourethral glands, sperm move into the vagina and cervix with the goal of meeting and penetrating an egg.

Men are sperm-production machines
In contrast to women and their eggs, men are constantly producing sperm. In fact, in less than the time it takes to read this sentence, a man will produce more than 1500 sperm in a second. Because sperm live fast but die young, they must be constantly replenished.

It takes approximately two to three months for sperm germ cells to fully mature into healthy sperm ready to fertilize an egg. This regeneration process is good news for men trying to give up bad lifestyle habits that are affecting their sperm count and quality.

There are male and female sperm
It’s the father who is responsible for determining the gender of his child. Sperm that carry the X chromosome typically live longer than sperm with a Y chromosome. Sperm with an X chromosome give rise to a female and Y-bearing sperm will result in a male, which may account for the slightly higher percentage of females in the population.

If only King Henry VIII had known he was determining the gender of his children, a few more of his wives might have survived when they did not give birth to sons!

Lots of sperm are abnormally shaped
A significant percentage – 50 percent or more – of sperm have really strange shapes, such as two heads, two tails, deformed tails or other oddities. These deformities may have an impact on the ability of the sperm to penetrate an egg.

A man only needs one testicle to become a parent
If a man loses one testicle to cancer, for example, his other testicle will make up for this loss by producing additional sperm. This is a handy way for nature to adapt to challenging circumstances.

Male infertility
Male infertility has been shown, by well-controlled scientific studies, to be present in up to 47 percent of infertile couples. Sperm abnormalities are one of the major causes of this problem.

At HRC Fertility, we consider the semen analysis as the first step in evaluating the male factor for couples undergoing an infertility evaluation. Most men with an abnormal semen analysis can father children with appropriate treatment. This can include intrauterine insemination, in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). In addition, we might refer a man to a urologist for further specialized evaluation and treatment.

Though only one sperm is needed to make a baby, Mother Nature has created a fascinating production and transport process for male genetic material. Scientists are always learning new facts about sperm that hopefully will contribute to the resolution of man forms of male infertility.

Infertility is an equal opportunity medical condition. This means there is a 40 to 50 percent chance that prospective dads who seek our help will have an infertility problem, with low sperm production being one of the main culprits.

Getting this diagnosis can be very shocking for men. After all, they probably have been producing what they think are normal and plentiful ejaculations. They may not realize that abundant semen does not indicate a normal sperm count.

The sperm production journey
First, let’s look at how sperm is made. It takes approximately 72 days for men to produce a new sperm supply. The production process begins in the brain with the pituitary gland. It releases hormones that jump start the development of sperm and testosterone inside the testicles that are protected within the cool confines of the scrotum. Sperm continue to mature as they move through the semniferous tubes of the testes to the prostate gland, where sperm mixes with seminal fluid to create semen.

What is a a low sperm count?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a man with few than 15 million sperm per milliliter of semen is considered to have oligospermia or low sperm concentration. If his ejaculate is absent of sperm, he has azoospermia.

Depending on the cause of their sperm shortage, many men with low sperm counts can conceive on their own or with minimal assistance and lifestyle changes. After all, it only takes one sperm to fertilize an egg. However, low sperm counts can be predictive of a medical problem or genetic condition and may warrant further evaluation.

Azoospermic men, who comprise approximately five percent of infertile males, will need medical intervention to achieve a pregnancy.

Why do some men have low sperm counts?
So how and why does sperm production go awry? The reasons are varied and complex, and include the following medical, environmental and lifestyle reasons.

Medical
* A varicocele, a collection of varicose veins in the scrotum that can interfere with blood flow, and inhibit temperature control of the testicles
* Antisperm antibodies that mistake a man’s own sperm for foreign bodies and attempt to eradicate them
* Infections, including sexually transmitted diseases
* Cancers and nonmalignant tumors, as well as medical conditions like diabetes and hypertension
* Undescended testicles, a congenital condition
* Chromosomal defects
* Blockage of the tubes that transport sperm
* Prior surgeries, such as vasectomies and prostate surgeries

Diagnosis and treatment
Generally speaking, a semen analysis that evaluates sperm count, as well as movement and shape, is the main diagnostic tool for male fertility. A thorough medical examination is helpful in pinpointing lifestyle or occupational hazards to sperm health. Because sperm production is continually occurring, men can make positive changes that can potentially improve their sperm numbers after two to three months.

When treatment is needed, we recommend intrauterine insemination and/or in vitro fertilization with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), depending on the extent of the male fertility problem or other infertility diagnoses.

Though no man likes to hear that he has a low sperm count, there are many reasons for low sperm production as well as treatment options. Low sperm does not necessarily mean “no” sperm–and only one sperm is needed to make a baby.

Claire didn’t like her doctor. She was investigating IVF options and undergoing tests with a fertility specialist, and it had so far been a bad experience.

And a bad experience is not what Claire and her husband Rod needed. Rod had had a vasectomy more than a decade before they were married, and the couple wasn’t sure a reversal would be successful. They also didn’t have an unlimited budget to spend on fertility treatments.

As Claire recalls, despite the nicely decorated waiting room and office, “I didn’t really feel like the doctor cared that much. It was much more about how amazing he was rather than how he could help me.”

So how did she find HRC Fertility and Dr. David Tourgeman? She asked a perfect stranger personal questions.

“I happened to be just hanging out on the beach with my husband when this woman walked along behind me with two young children about two or three years old,” she said. “I heard the English accent when they were talking. I’m English, too, and I don’t usually speak to people I don’t know. It’s an English thing. But I was like, ‘Oh hi. You’re from England.’ She said, ‘Oh yes’ and she introduced me to her twins. It was really out of character for me to be so personal with someone I don’t know, but I asked if she had her twins with IVF and she said yes. She told me Dr. Tourgeman had helped her and gave me his information.”

Claire went in for a consultation. She quickly discovered the whole attitude at HRC Fertility’s West Los Angeles office was different than the previous office. Claire knew she had found the right doctor in Dr. Tourgeman to help her build her family with Rod.

“He was so warm, friendly and personable, eager to help, and interested in hearing about me rather than just interested in talking about himself,” she said. I got a whole different feeling there, and it was a much better experience. “

Claire felt she had found a great doctor to help them start their family together. She was right. They are the proud parents of their daughter Hadley, nearly eight months old. She credits the care of Dr. Tourgeman and his staff for helping her to stay relaxed and comfortable throughout the treatment—a factor she considers a large contributor to her success.

“I think it’s really important for IVF to be successful that you feel happy and relaxed and comfortable,” she said. “And I definitely got those feelings from Dr. Tourgeman and his staff.”

In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatments may present you and your partner with many challenges physically, emotionally, and financially. Usually along with these challenges, many couples experience stress. While studies show that stress does not hurt your chances of IVF success, it does exhausts your body and mind. When men prepare for IVF, it’s a good idea to practice techniques to relieve stress. Readmore ….